Thoughts on BC's new offensive coach

Considering the time crunch he was under, Frank Spaziani's first hire as head coach was a respectable one.

Not only did he bring in someone with head coaching experience, Spaziani also brought in a longtime friend in Gary Tranquill. Those two intangibles should help make the coaching transition a smooth one. The two were assistants together on George Welsh's staff at Virginia in 1990, and both coached at Navy during the 1970s.

Tranquill, who had retired after the 2005 season as offensive coordinator at North Carolina, brings a wealth of coaching experience to Chestnut Hill, and has spent plenty of time in the ACC, with stops at Virginia, Virginia Tech and UNC. He also brings NFL experience, and worked with Bernie Kosar and Vinnie Testaverde. The one thing he doesn't bring is a lot of winning records. Tranquill was a part of five winning seasons during his 12 years as an offensive coordinator at the collegiate level.

The biggest question hanging out there is Tranquill's age and the fact that he has already retired -- twice. For a staff desperately seeking stability, it's hard not to wonder if Tranquill, 68, will stick around long enough to see a full recruiting class through. He turns 69 in April, and yes, other coaches will use his age against BC in recruiting. This hire reminds me a lot of Joe Paterno's hire of Galen Hall, and -- surprise -- they're both still there.

As for his work on the field, let's let the numbers tell the story. Here is how UNC fared during Tranquill's time there:

Wide receivers coach Ryan Day was reported by The Boston Globe to had been a favorite to take over as offensive coordinator. Will he stick around after being passed up for the job he wanted, like Jack Bicknell Jr. did, or will Spaziani have yet another coach to replace with signing day less than two weeks away? Spaziani still has to fill the defensive coordinator spot and offensive line position.